Forgotten Past
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: It's not that the past isn't worth remembering. Sometimes it just... hurts too much to remember. But everything remains in the Cybertronian records. The story of the Seeker twins is especially well-recorded, and only those who read it know why. Will you be one of them?
1. Chapter 1

**OH MY PRIMUS I HAVE WAY TOO MANY UNFINISHED STORIES.**

**But I'd like to point out that, for once, this was NOT my fault. Nope. It was my friend's fault. Same as "Nothing Personal" was his fault. We were talking about Dreadwing and Skyquake, and he started randomly making up a backstory for them. So I was all "STFU THANKS NOW I HAVE TO GO WRITE THAT." And apparently I did. I can't let these things go, okay. XD**

**So, um, here we have it. The start of the Seeker twins' past. Warning, there WILL be OCs here, so if you don't like that, you has two options! Click the back button (I won't be offended) or give them a chance! 8D**

**Dreadwing: Trust me when I say she's being completely serious. I don't even think she could be sarcastic right now if she tried. She's on too much of a sugar high.**

**Skyquake: Isn't that why we love her?**

**Dreadwing: She may be an idiot, but she's the DECEPTICONS' idiot.**

**Me: *snaps fingers* OKAY~**

**Anyway. Being totally serious here, this first chapter is rather sad. Good thing? You tell me! I love feedback.**

**Also, did you like me putting a TFP version of Darkwing in here? He was one of the two that combined to actually form Dreadwing in G1 (the other being Dreadwind) and I happen to like him just a teeny bit more. I thought it was creative, what do you guys think?**

**Which reminds me, I OWN NONE OF ZEE TRANSFORMERS. I own Sharpshoot, and that's it.**

**Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The only thing that registered in Skyquake's audio receptors was the sound of explosions. The ground shook beneath him and white flashed across his vision, not giving him a chance to look around. He could barely keep his balance, being pitched to the ground. Not knowing what else to do, he just curled up into a ball and trembled, an instinctive action that didn't comfort him as much as it should have. All he wanted was his brother. Where was his brother?

"Dreadwing," he whimpered, not able to raise his voice any more than that. He knew his brother probably wouldn't be able to hear him with that pathetic volume, but his audial sensors were already rough and hoarse. It was all the dust, he thought; getting into his intakes and scratching at his audials.

He could feel the fluid pushing at his optics, but he didn't want to cry. He could be strong like Dreadwing, and that meant he couldn't cry over everything. Dreadwing probably wasn't crying even now, when neither of them knew what was going on. He wasn't crying, yet he certainly didn't feel strong, and he wanted Dreadwing to come find him so they could be strong together. He needed Dreadwing to be strong. He couldn't do it all himself.

"Skyquake!" He heard his brother's vocal pattern hissing beside his audio receptor, and arms wrapped around him. Dreadwing wasn't quite strong enough to pull Skyquake off the ground, so when he landed on his knees, he just pressed himself against his twin, almost curving over across the other's body. "Skyquake, what are you doing? We gotta hide!"

Something whistled and flew overhead, and the brothers shrieked as Dreadwing tried to cover as much of Skyquake as he could. Another blast rocked the ground, and Dreadwing fell down beside his brother, barely managing to grab Skyquake and draw him close. "W-What was that?" the jade-painted twin asked, feeling as though he couldn't hold back his tears much longer. Not if all this kept up.

"I don't know..." The sounds emitted by Dreadwing cycling his vents were fast, heavy, and anxious. He carefully put a servo on his brother's wing, in a probably vain attempt to calm him down. There wasn't much else he could do. "A bullet or something? But it missed us..."

Skyquake felt his vents hitch, and fluid collected at the bottoms of his optics. "Th-They aimed at us?"

Dreadwing pushed himself up a little, then made the effort to stand while guiding Skyquake up to his pedes as well. He couldn't see very well, there was dust and dirt everywhere. He could even feel some of it clouding up his optical sensors, gritty and offending and painful. He quickly offlined and onlined his optics again, though it didn't do anything to help. He still couldn't see who was on the other side of that shot. "Yeah..."

* * *

Sharpshoot could barely keep up with her sparkmate; she'd never seen him run so fast in all the stellar cycles she'd been with him. Everybot could say what they wanted to about him - he was depressing and not much fun at parties, which may have been true - but there was no denying that he rose to the occasion. What did it say about her, then, that she was eating his dust in the middle of a battle? She was nowhere near as skilled as he was, yet she wouldn't even entertain the process of letting him go alone. Other femmes took up arms, so why not her too?

The tip of her pede hit something - a rock, she assumed - and she shouted angrily as she went plummeting to the ground. The fall was short, but it was also rather hard. She'd been running nearly as fast as she could, so the force was something to be reckoned with. She even slid a little as she went down. "_Darkwing!_"

"Sharpshoot!" Oh Primus, he _knew_ this was going to happen. He had just known something awful would happen to either him or his mate. Why couldn't it have been him who tripped? Why did it have to be her? "Sharpshoot!" He skidded to a stop and turned around, racing back to help her. He didn't care about going forward and attacking, not right now. If she had gotten disoriented and she stayed down long enough, she'd be shot.

The femme groaned and raised her helm, trying to push herself up on her elbows. It felt like something was pinning her legs down - did a rock fall on her pede or something? She was relieved when she saw Darkwing running toward her, quickly kneeling down and putting a servo against her stomach plating before pushing in an attempt to pry her loose. "I was afraid you didn't hear me," she muttered, clawing at the ground and trying to free her legs.

He chuckled, crawling backward to try and find the rock through the poor visibility. It was that dark little mirthless chuckle, the one she loved so much. Almost like a wordless version of _There's no hope in this world, but if there was, it would exist in you._ "Not hear _you?_" She felt his claws brush against her leg, searching for the rock, and it brought up the memory of when they sparkbonded. A wonderful memory. "The only time you were louder is when our mechlings were brought into existence."

She pushed herself up a bit, wincing when the couter at her elbow scraped against what must have been a particularly pointy rock. "That wasn't my fault. I thought there was only going to be one hatchling. I thought it was over."

"You know, they're twins." Darkwing vented, curse this dust! He couldn't see anything to figure out where the rock was to get it off her. "Created from a single spark that split in half - it's almost like we only have one."

Sharpshoot snorted bitterly, trying to wiggle her legs as if it would help. "_You_ weren't sparked with them for a stellar cycle and six deca-cycles. _You_ didn't have them extracted from your abdominal chamber. Believe me, Darkwing, _we have two._"

He laughed again, but it was far more unsettling. There was actually some emotion put into this laugh - he was impossibly nervous. "Sharpshoot... I-I think I found the rock, sweetspark. It's heavy, but I'm processing that I might be able to get it off..."

She clenched her denta when he moved it slowly, probably making a scratch on her leg armor. Dust would get into it, and it would get infected... well, she couldn't think about that now. If they yelled loud enough, maybe Hook would hear them and come to help. He owed her a favor anyway. "I-It hurts, Darkwing..."

"I know, I'm sorry. I can't help it." She heard him groan, felt his servos shaking as he tried to move the rock. "Am I getting you out?"

"Yeah, I can move a little now..." She squirmed, testing out how well she could get herself out, if at all. The results looked promising, she could almost twist herself out. "If you can move it just a bit more, love..."

"I've almost got it, dear. Don't worry, you're going to be-"

It was a mistake for either of them to have been relieved for such luck, even for a split nanoklik. That brief hope of reprieve was probably what sealed their fate, tempting the universe with a big _Here we are, come get us!_ sign. At first Sharpshoot had thought it was just a fleeting flinch of Darkwing's claws, a nervous fumble of movements. He'd been known not to do well if anyone he cared about was in danger. But not a klik later, he let out a spark-wrenching, energon-chilling cry.

And she'd sworn that just before that she'd heard something else. A cracking sound.

"D-Darkwing!" she stammered, frightened and not knowing what to think. It was a stupid thing to wonder if he was okay, because it was clear from the noise that he wasn't. "Darkwing, what happened?!"

Her mate stumbled forward, collapsing next to her. He was coughing, like his vents had virtually given up cycling themselves, and there was bright blue energon spilling everywhere. There was a large, jagged wound across his chestplates now, exposing his spark chamber. It was ruptured, and the electricity in his spark was flickering. Fading.

"**_Darkwing!_**" Sharpshoot wrestled her legs free, not without difficulty, and kicked the rock away with her heel struts. "Oh good Primus, my darling!" She swung his arm round her shoulders, her other servo pressing over the one he had on his chest. She lifted him up as best she could, claws trying vainly and desperately to curb the flow of energon. She knew it was no use; once his spark had been injured like this, there was nothing she or even the most skilled medic could do.

At least she could take comfort in the fact that he'd go offline in her arms, with her servo over his spark. Like they promised each other they'd be forever.

"Oh Primus, I-I'm so sorry, Darkwing." It was all she could do not to simply break down crying right then and there. Why had it been him to get shot and not her? Why did he always _have to be right?_ He'd turned to help her when she was down, which was what you were supposed to do when a member of your team was in trouble. You were supposed to help them, and that was what he did. So he got offlined for doing his duty to her? That didn't sound like justice at all to her.

"Fragging Autobots...!" She tightly offlined her optics as she supported his weight and tried to drag him back. Maybe there was somewhere they could hide, at least until he was offline. Then she'd go back out, guns blazing, and terminate all those slaggers herself. They wouldn't get away with taking Darkwing away from her. "How could they do this to you?!"

"'Cause we're Decepticons, that's how," he mumbled, trying feebly to get his pedes on the ground. "It doesn't matter now, Sharpshoot. I told you, there's no hope. We have to find Dreadwing and Skyquake." His vents drew in a deep cycle, but it was raspy and impeded, and he couldn't even keep himself from coughing. "I don't think that shot was aimed at us. The fact that it hit me was just luck."

She tried not to let her emotions overcome her, no matter how hard it was. She couldn't hold all of this in, it was impossible. She was a mother first, a soldier second, and she couldn't believe what his words meant. "_They aimed at sparklings!_" She went as fast as she could, trudging over the ground and taking her sparkmate with her. "_You're monsters!_" she screamed, hoping those micro-brained Autobots heard her. "**_Every last fragging one of you!_**"

Oh Primus, she couldn't see. Where were her children? Where did they go? Were they safe? Scrap, if they'd been hit too she would offline all the Autobots one by one. Was it not enough that they'd taken her sparkmate away, they had to aim for her sparklings as well?

Darkwing looked up at his mate, and even though he knew he was going offline soon, he had to smile just a little. Through his now blurry and dark vision, he could see Sharpshoot. She was just as beautiful as the day he'd met her... she always had been.

He remembered every single klik they shared together. He still remembered. The first time they were alone together, shy and awkward. Their first kiss, warm and sweet. Their sparkbond, which had left them both vulnerable; the process had been a bit painful at first, but it was worth it. The first time they physically showed their love, and the tingling afterglow of it. Then when Dreadwing and Skyquake were created, an unexpected surprise born that day. He remembered that was the day his life had really changed - instead of just having to protect himself and Sharpshoot, he'd gained two more little beings to protect. And he did so gladly. He loved those sparklings just as much as he loved Sharpshoot.

He wanted to see them one last time. He wanted to say good-bye... she had to find them. She was going to, he knew she was. She was good with that sort of thing.

"Don't worry," Sharpshoot vented, trying to see through the thick dust. She couldn't even tell where they were anymore. Was she going in the right direction to where she'd last seen Dreadwing and Skyquake? "We'll find them, Darkwing, we'll find them, I promise..."

All of a sudden, she heard another cracking noise. It sounded closer this time, and before she knew what was happening, a burning pain spread through her chest. "_Oh Primus!_" Frag, they'd gotten another lucky hit in. Feeling like her spark and everything surrounding it was on fire, she tumbled forward, falling in what must have looked like a scrapheap on the ground. This time she let herself cry, and scream.

But she still refused to let go of her sparkmate. If they were going to go offline, they were going to go offline together.

_"Danni!"_ Oh Primus. Was that just her mind comforting her on the way to the Well, or was that really her sweet Skyquake?

* * *

Dreadwing and Skyquake first were shocked when they heard what sounded like _Danni_ shouting. She sounded so close! Was she coming back for them? But then they squealed and held onto each other when she fell in front of them, along with _Opi._

It was horrifying to see them like that, Dreadwing thought, not strong as they usually were. He wondered what had happened to them, did it have anything to do with that noise? And even worse was the neon energon pooling around them. Upon a more focused look, he noticed that it was coming mostly from their chestplates, and there was something in _Danni_'s chest that they shouldn't be able to see. From the awful, unsettled feeling between his own chestplates, he knew it was her spark. And he assumed it was the same situation with _Opi._

Skyquake was scarcely holding himself together, clinging to his twin and almost sinking to his knees. He couldn't believe what he was seeing with his own optics. What was wrong with _Danni_ and _Opi?_ Why could he see inside _Danni_'s chest? "Dreadwing," he sobbed, and finally the tears came leaking past his optics. "What's happening?!"

_Danni_ looked up and her ruby optics met her son's. She tried bravely to push her body up, but it was for naught. Her servo shook as she extended it out over the ground toward him. "S-Skyquake... come here, sweetspark..."

There wasn't any hesitation, and he didn't even have to process about what to do. Skyquake tore away from Dreadwing and threw himself down in front of his mother, wrapping his arms around her gorget. He couldn't do anything but cry and bury himself against her fatally damaged chestplates. He'd always felt so safe with her, in this position, always known that he could run to her no matter what. And now she was leaving him. How was he going to survive if he didn't have anyone to run to?

_Danni_'s arms encircled him, and brought him as close as possible to her. She was still determined and gentle, even though he could see that she was in pain. She was strong. "My little sparkling. Oh Skyquake." She placed a soft kiss on top of his helm, her claws stroking over his wings. Her claws were cold and sticky with energon, but that just made him wish more for her not to leave him. "I love you, my sweet mechling." Her vents began to crash, and her frame shuddered against him, producing the sick sound of metal rattling against metal.

"_Danni,_" he sobbed, tightening his grip and wanting to hold onto her forever. Maybe if he held on with all of the strength in his tiny body, he could keep her here. Maybe this would help. "Don't go. Me an' Dreadwing need you. I want you to stay."

"I know you do, darling." Her claws traced down his back, along the curves of his upper and lower wings. He didn't even care how messy he was getting, that she was tracking her energon all over him - it would be all he had left of her. "But I can't stay."

"_Why?_" Pressing his chevron against her chestplates, he noticed that they were still warm. That should have made things better, but it didn't. It made things worse somehow.

"Oh, because, Skyquake... it's our time to leave this world." _Danni_'s servo moved slightly up, her claws tapping lovingly against his helm. "_Opi_ and I are joining Primus at the Well of All Sparks. There's no more pain there, and we will always be looking after you." Despite her clearly waning strength, she drew him in as close as she could. "No matter what, Skyquake..." She kissed him again, this time against his bucca. "Stay with your brother."

Skyquake sniffed and brought himself to glance up at her. "W-With Dreadwing?"

"Yes, sweetspark. You're twins - two mechs born from the same spark." She offlined her optics and vented. "There can't be one without the other. You are two halves of one soul. You must always be together with him, and listen to him." A claw on her other servo traced lightly down the length of his bucca. "Can you promise me that, Skyquake?"

He held onto her as tightly as he could, still not wanting to let her go. "Y-Yes, _Danni._ I-I p-p-promise."

Meanwhile, Dreadwing had run to _Opi._ This was the normal position for them - Dreadwing with _Opi_ and Skyquake with _Danni._ They offered different protection, and they ran to the one they felt safer with. And now this was the last time they'd run to them... to anyone? Dreadwing tried first to lift _Opi_ up off the ground, but it wasn't happening. So he settled for just falling to his knees and wiggling into _Opi_'s loose embrace.

"I'm sorry, Dreadwing," _Opi_ whispered into his audio receptor, carefully rubbing a light servo over the child's wings. "I knew this would happen one day. I knew I'd be leaving you." His grip tightened, but not by much thanks to his wound draining more and more of his energy. "I just didn't know it would be so soon. I thought I would... have a little... just a _little_ more time with you and Skyquake..."

Dreadwing could feel the fluid collecting at the bases of his optics, and he tried to hold it back. He didn't want to cry, because then Skyquake would see it. He didn't even know what to say - the one time he wanted desperately to say something, _anything,_ and he was at a loss for words. "I... we... are gonna miss you, _Opi._ You and _Danni._"

_Opi_ chuckled just a little, offlining his optics as he pulled Dreadwing closer, as close as he possibly could. "Oh, Dreadwing. We'll miss you too." His claws stroked lightly over the back of the sparkling's helm, as he felt _Opi_'s vents starting to fail. "I love you both so much. I don't say it enough, but I love you two."

The fluid spilled over, and Dreadwing scooted forward to bury his face against _Opi_'s neck and chest. Were they really going offline? He couldn't imagine life without them. What would he and his brother do? "We love you too."

_Opi_ leaned down as much as he could and carefully pressed his lip components against the side of the child's helm. "Dreadwing... you take care of your brother, okay? You do that for me?"

Dreadwing nodded, trying his best to just stop crying. "I-I will, _Opiluk._ I'll take care of Skyquake."

"There's my good little mechling. I knew I could trust you." _Opi_ vented, then coughed, and reached over toward _Danni,_ clasping her servo with his. They both looked just a little happy when their claws touched, and suddenly their grips on both Dreadwing and Skyquake loosened. "I love you, Sharpshoot." His vents hitched, and Dreadwing heard his denta grind together. "No matter what I've said about anything... _you... _you and our sparklings have been the only good thing in my life."

Tears were spilling down _Danni_'s face as her arm began to fall away from Skyquake. Her claws curled around _Opi_'s servo, and she laid her helm down. "I love you too, Darkwing. And no matter what _I've_ ever said... I've never wanted to change you. I love you just the way you are, and I love our family just the way it is."

Their claws went limp, and their vents drew in one last cycle, almost at the same time, within mere nanokliks of each other. _Opi_ gave up one last grin, a rare sight, even though Skyquake knew _Danni_'s optics were offline. "See you on the other side, sweetspark."

A short giggle from _Danni._ "Not if I see you first."

There was a quick jolt, like an electric charge passing through their bodies, and the twins knew both of their sparks were now extinguished.

Skyquake began to wail. "I-I want _Danni_ back!" He was sobbing and still clinging to her lifeless body, crying against her torn, empty chestplates.

Dreadwing cycled his vents quickly, then lifted his helm. He heard something - the sound of someone's pedes on the ground, maybe more than just one bot. And they were coming toward him and his brother.

He jumped up, somewhat hesitant about just leaving _Opi_ and _Danni_'s bodies there. He didn't want to, but their safety might be in jeopardy. He'd just promised _Opi_ that he would take care of Skyquake - that was his last wish, and he wouldn't let _Opi_ down. He couldn't. "Skyquake!" He snatched his brother by the arm.

The jade twin shrieked loudly and pulled away, more tears rolling down his face. "_My shoulder hurts, Dreadwing! That hurt!_"

Dreadwing vented and grabbed Skyquake around the waist with both arms, dragging him over behind a rock that had looked like it would hide both of them. They didn't have time for this! "I'm sorry! But we gotta hide! It might be the bots who offlined _Opi_ and _Danni!_"

Skyquake quieted down at that, and just tapered down to holding onto his brother. Shaking and attempting to hold back any more tears, he didn't even want to look out. What if it _was_ the bots who shot their creators? What if they were found?

Dreadwing didn't want to look either, but he tried to be a little more hopeful. It could be the bots who had shot _Opi_ and _Danni,_ but what if it wasn't? They needed all the help they could get. Still... the noise of the pedesteps sounded confident and intimidating.

They _could_ be in trouble.

* * *

**Cybertronian Translations... 8D**

**Opi = Daddy (short for ****_Opiluk_****)**

**Opiluk = Father**

**Danni = Mommy (short for ****_Danniluk,_**** which I didn't use in this chapter, lol...)**

**NOW CRY. CRY, MY REVIEWERS. AND... reviews as well pwease? *hugs little Dreadwing and Skyquake* You wouldn't want to make these two cry, would ya?**

**... Because if I don't get reviews, they will WAIL.**

***ahem* Anyway, I hope you liked it! Hopefully next chapter coming soon, after I kick my butt in gear and update some of mah other stories.**

**Review pwease? 8D**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**SQUISH! The Seeker twins are so adorable, bubububu~**

**Happy for teh reviews last chappie! I'm glad you all find widdle Dreadwing and Skyquake as cute as I do. They're only gonna get cuter, teehee.**

**I wanted to introduce another canon character before throwing my other couple of OC's in. I was struggling with the decision because I want to introduce Soundwave later, so I asked my friend who came up with the premise and he said Shockwave. Sooooo, SHOCKERS~ I don't like him as much as some other characters, but his design is awesome. And he's my OCs' friend, so meh. I kinda have to tolerate him. XD**

**Also, send the little Seeker twins some love! According to me and my friend they're currently sick with cyber-colds. XD Don't worry, we're taking care of them! Force feeding them orange juice and soup and whatnot. But if we show them some virtual get-well cards, I bet they'll feel a lot better soon~**

**Well, lol. I wanted to show exactly how Skyquake got so devoted to Megs, so... yep. Here it is.**

**I only own Sharpshoot and Vaccine, and... anyone else you've never heard of. (There WILL be one more. I think only one... lol...)**

**My friend pointed out, in a rather Shockwave-y manner, that Breakdown being older than Dreads and Sky isn't logical. But meh. I suppose he's not really THAT much older... XD I have no idea. But I'm sticking with my first idea. SO PUT THOSE APPLES IN YOUR PIPES AND SMOKE THEM.**

**... Wait, what? XD**

**Enjoy the widdle Seekers~!**

* * *

Shockwave went first, several long strides ahead of his master. Normally, he wouldn't even be out of his lab, but he'd heard say that the Autobots were using a new type of bullet against the Decepticon army. Any method of updated technology, combat-associated or otherwise, he _had_ to be on top of that. How could he not have thought of the newest advancements in weaponry? His was a brilliant mind, and it made him inwardly furious not to have come up with such things.

The only way he could redeem himself was to rip into the Autobots' tech and find a way to use their own designs against them. That of course was the only logical thing to do.

The landscape was surprisingly soundless, for having just had a battle fought upon it. If there were any Autobots left, well, they'd most certainly retreated. Clearly their bullets didn't work quite as well as they'd anticipated. He had a shield over his vulnerable optic, seeing how much dust and miniscule pieces of scrap metal had been kicked up. It still wasn't very easy to see through the thick, smoky debris, but he could make out shadows of metallic rocks and...

Wait just a klik. He swiveled his helm to one side, adjusting his audio receptors so he could make sure for himself that what he'd heard wasn't just a figment of his imagination. There it was again a few nanokliks later; a small whimpering, coupled with rapid vent-cycling. What was that? He wasn't sure he'd ever heard this noise before.

He took a few steps toward it. Was it remaining Autobots? Slag, they just didn't know when to quit! How illogical. He engaged his cannon, ready to fire should it turn out to be enemies. "I hear you," he warned, walking closer. "Reveal yourself now... the outcome will be the same no matter what."

He got closer, and a rock came into his vision, cutting through the foggy curtain. Somebot cried out, and Shockwave rushed forward, cannon ready.

To his surprise, it wasn't Autobots he was currently holding at gunpoint. Instead, behind the rock, it was two young sparklings. They were clinging tightly to each other and both looked absolutely terrified. Though, who wouldn't be? Most fully grown bots had good reason to fear him, and now here he was pointing his weapon at a couple of _kids._

He quickly disengaged his cannon, returning his arm to his side. Their optics were red, which made them the children of Decepticons, and fluid was leaking from both little pairs of red optics. Tears... they were crying. He also noticed that they were identical except for their color pattern - split-spark twins. What a rare sight. "Mechlings," he muttered, leaning back just a little so as not to intimidate them further. "Where are your creators?" Perhaps they just hadn't caught up to their sons yet. What were two little sparklings doing in the middle of a war, anyway?

The predominantly violet and gold twin held his brother closer, and slowly pointed a shaking claw down at the ground in front of the rock. "_O-Opi_ and _Danni,_" he finally spoke, in a shy voice. His brother, whose color scheme mostly consisted of jade and crimson, let out another low whimper and buried his faceplates into the first twin's shoulder.

Shockwave turned his helm to look at where the mechling had pointed. It was not so much of a surprise to see two crumpled metallic bodies lying on the surface, but it was a necessity of war, he knew. These were their creators, who had presumably been murdered before their very optics. No child deserved such a thing as that... but alas, murder was the very center of war, after all.

"Oh," he simply said, as he knelt to inspect the bodies. "Your _opiluk_ and _danniluk?_ How unfortunate." He traced a claw around the wound in the femme's chest. The only visible and life-threatening injury she had on her, though there were various other scrapes and chips marring her armor. A swift check confirmed that it was the same situation with the mech. A single, large shot to the chestplates, but it wasn't like any other shot. After rupturing the spark chamber (because their sparks were long gone now), it appeared to have melted the armor around it. It had very nearly consumed the entirety of the femme's breastplates, and had begun to work down into the mech's abdominal plating.

"Ah," he murmured, getting back to his pedes. "So _this_ is the result of the new prototype that will supposedly revolutionize the Autobots' war effort. Pathetic. They put no logic into developing this."

He got a closer look at the bodies, and was slightly shaken to see that he actually recognized the mech. It was Darkwing - the brother of the already deceased Dreadwind. As he recalled, Darkwing had been the more positive of the two, though not by much of course. He couldn't identify the femme, but he noted the state of their servos. Claws curled around each other, looking as though the grip had been as tight as two offlining bots could manage. "Must have been his sparkmate..." He glanced back at the two mechlings, and flashed his optic at them. "And you are their sparklings...?"

"_Shockwave!_"

The scientist turned around to see - barely - the outline of his master, Megatron, coming toward him through the dust. What was he supposed to say about the sparklings? Surely they couldn't have a couple of children running about the _Nemesis._ As necessary as they were, sparklings were little more than trouble; no, he didn't like them at all. Still, they were _Decepticon_ sparklings. Something had to be done with them to keep them out of further harm.

The warlord stepped through the smoke, and it was plain to see that his mere _presence_ frightened the sparklings. The smaller one wailed loudly and ran to hide behind his brother. Megatron's optics flickered toward the little bodies, then back to Shockwave. "Who are they?"

Shockwave stepped aside so his master could get a better look. "Sparklings, Lord Megatron. The sons of Darkwing and..." He gestured to the bodies. "This femme. I can't identify her."

"Darkwing?" The larger mech tossed a glance toward the scrapheap that had previously been two Decepticon soldiers. "Ah, yes..." A brief expression of something akin to sadness flashed across his faceplates, but it didn't last long. "The femme, her name is Sharpshoot. I remember her somewhat. She was an incredible sniper, a brave warrior in the Academy as I understand. Quick learner. So, she bonded with Darkwing, hmm?"

"Evidently so, sir."

"And these..." Megatron took a step closer to the children, halfway offlining his optics. "Are their sparklings?"

"Yes, my lord." Shockwave glanced back at the mechlings. "Formed of a spark that split in two during their creation."

"Ahhhh... twins? You don't see that every cycle."

"Indeed."

"And their names?"

"They..." His vocals faltered slightly, but he caught himself. "Have not told me. I believe they are frightened, Lord Megatron."

"And why wouldn't they be?" Megatron took a small step toward the twins, a false comfort blooming in his voice. "They are young, and alone except for each other. Darkwing and Sharpshoot, their creators, have just been terminated right in front of them. And now here we are, strangers to them, and they've no idea who they can trust now that their creators are gone. Put anybot in their position, and I process they'd be leaking gallons of transmission fluid by now. But these two... are stronger than that, hmm?" He raised a claw, beckoning toward himself. "Little sparklings, what are your names?"

For a few nanokliks they just stared back at the warlord, then the violet twin glanced at his brother before shifting a little and finally speaking up. His voice was quiet and shaky, coupled with the fact that his vents were trying to cycle themselves a mile a klik. "I'm Dreadwing." He drew his twin closer to him, patting on the other's wings. "An' this is my brother, Skyquake."

"Wonderful." He glanced over at Shockwave. "You just need to know how to communicate with them, Shockwave. Make them believe you're not threatening and won't hurt them." He turned back to the children, Dreadwing and Skyquake, and held out a servo. "I am Megatron."

Dreadwing offlined and onlined his optics, loosening his grip on his twin a little. "H-Hello, Mister Megatron," he squeaked out, his mouthplates turning up into a slight pout. "How do you do?"

"How amusing." He stood up to his full height again. "Sparklings, eh, Shockwave?"

The scientist looked down at the two, who huddled into each other away from him. "Indeed, my lord."

"I wonder how old they are. Hmm." The leader's optics traced over the mechlings' bodies, from wingtips to pedes. "Seekers, exactly like their creators. Their model type is impressive. If trained correctly, they would make exceptional warriors. Don't you think, Shockwave?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sure they would. But if you're considering taking them aboard the ship..." He gestured to them. "Whose responsibility would they be? You, Soundwave, and I are far too busy, and I doubt Airachnid could even be trusted not to turn her back on them after five nanokliks."

"I agree, Shockwave. But I was considering... perhaps letting Breakdown and Vaccine take care of them." Megatron looked back at the sparklings, offering his servo once more. "Breakdown and Vaccine are medics. They would do a commendable job as your guardians, and they possess fair knowledge on how to care for sparklings." He took a small step closer, looking rather like he was trying not to appear scary to them. "Come with us, Dreadwing and Skyquake. I will make sure that you are both safe."

The brothers looked at each other for a moment, then Dreadwing whispered something into Skyquake's audio. Skyquake whimpered and stood up as tall as he could to reciprocate the same action. This went on for a few nanokliks, finally ending when Dreadwing whispered something and Skyquake nodded. Dreadwing looked back up at the warlord, with the slightly smaller twin seeming to avoid any attempt at being seen. "Okay," the violet twin announced. "But... Skyquake says _Dani_ and _Opi_ have to come with us too."

"Shockwave?"

"I believe that can be arranged." Shockwave gestured to the bodies. "The effects of the Autobots' new bullets should be investigated. I shall have either Breakdown or Vaccine do the autopsies, and then I will perfect these... _atrocities._ The Autobots are primitive in their preparation of technology."

Megatron nodded. "How foolish they will feel, when the very weapons used to take down our soldiers are used against them in a better form."

It looked like he was about to continue, but before he could the smaller twin, Skyquake, spoke up for the first time. "Is it their fault?" His voice was low, and he was clearly far shyer than his brother.

The warlord offlined and onlined his optics, peering down at the mechling. "Once more, Skyquake? I don't follow."

Skyquake traced a circle in the dust with the tip of his pede. "Is the the Au'bots fault," he repeated, slightly raising his voice, "that _Danni_ and _Opi_ are at the Well?"

Shockwave glanced from the sparklings to his lord, wondering what the answer would be. These two were apparently old enough to comprehend the concept of offlining and a life after it. How disappointing that they had to learn such a harsh lesson at such a young age, but better now than never.

Megatron looked down at the mechling, and vented heavily. "Yes, Skyquake. The Autobots were the ones who offlined your _opiluk_ and _danniluk._"

Skyquake sniffed, and more fluid began leaking from his optics. "B-But..."

Dreadwing put his arms tightly around his twin, rubbing his wings. "They didn't aim at _Opi_ and _Danni,_" he finished, trying to console Skyquake. "At us - they fir... fear..." His still-developing glossa fumbled over the word, his little wings drooping down. "_Fired_ at us," he managed to finally say.

Megatron and Shockwave exchanged a glance, then the larger mech looked back down at the mechlings. "I wouldn't doubt that the Autobots would do such a thing. They may have aimed at you, but their bullets hitting your creators still accomplished what they were trying to do - offline Decepticons."

Dreadwing looked at him, then he continued to comfort his brother. "Won't happen again?" he asked, the question directed at Megatron even though his optics were focused on Skyquake. "I hafta take... care of Sky. I promised _Opi._"

Megatron nodded. "Yes. You will both be safe."

At that point, Skyquake wiggled out of Dreadwing's embrace, and ran toward Megatron. Within a nanoklik he'd wrapped his arms around the warlord's leg, clinging tightly and not looking like he was willing to let go for much. He was shaking and still crying, but trying to smile; he actually looked immensely relieved.

"Err..." Megatron raised an optic ridge, looking down at the mechling. "Right then... yes. Erm..."

"I get 'im." Dreadwing toddled over and tapped Skyquake, gently pulling his twin off of the larger mech's leg. "C'mon, Sky. Where we goin'?" he questioned to Megatron.

"My ship - the _Nemesis._" He waved a servo at the sparklings, and at Shockwave. "Come, this way. The ship isn't very far."

Dreadwing and Skyquake smiled at each other, and sandwiched themselves between Megatron and Shockwave, holding onto each other and following their savior closely. To them, there was no telling where they would end up, but it seemed that as long as they had each other, they thought they could handle anything.

_Hmm,_ Shockwave thought. _The naivete of youth._

* * *

**ABUBUBUBUBU WIDDLE DREADWING AND SKYQUAKE. MiniWing and TinyQuake! YES! These shall be their names. I decree it.**

**Skyquake, so adorable and trusting and wanting somebody to comfort him besides Dready. How cute! And Dreadwing, "Mister Megatron"? D'AWWWWWSY.**

**Obligatory Cybertronian translations!**

**Opi = Daddy**

**Danni = Mommy**

**Opiluk = Father**

**Danniluk = Mother**

**Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!**

**Hope you enjoyed, and pway for MiniWing and TinyQuake's recovery! Give dem all your loves and feels and they will be better in no time! **

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


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